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Cover of Fetters of gold

Fetters of gold

Jane Donnelly

First published 1989 · 188 pages

A sweeping, vintage romance of shifting loyalties and undeniable attraction set against the glamorous backdrops of Cornwall and the Greek Isles.

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What it feels like

Reading this vintage romance feels like stepping into a time capsule of high-stakes family drama and glamorous escapism. The narrative moves at a brisk, engaging pace, sweeping the reader from the windswept cliffs of Cornwall to the sun-drenched shores of a private Greek island. The mood is thick with romantic tension and the delicious angst of shifting loyalties, as initial hostility slowly melts into overwhelming passion. The prose is earnest and emotionally heightened, perfectly capturing the internal turmoil of a heroine desperate to prove her worth against a powerful, prejudiced patriarch. It is a deeply satisfying read for anyone who loves the classic, melodramatic flair of 1980s category romance, where duty clashes with irresistible, undeniable desire.

Mood
  • escapist
  • tense
  • sun-drenched
  • windswept
Tone
  • earnest
  • melodramatic
  • angsty
  • romantic
Pace
brisk
Themes
shifting loyalties · overcoming prejudice · irresistible attraction · family duty · proving one's worth
The writing
Accessible and emotionally heightened, the prose leans heavily into internal romantic turmoil and sweeping scenic descriptions.
The arc
The protagonist moves from defensive frustration and misplaced loyalty to an overwhelming, undeniable passion that upends her entire life.
Who it's for
Readers who crave vintage category romance filled with glamorous European settings, family drama, and the classic enemies-to-lovers dynamic with a powerful patriarch.
Content notes
  • amnesia
  • family conflict
  • mild emotional manipulation

About the book

Dinah wasn't a gold digger, and she'd prove it

Yet convincing powerful entrepreneur Marcus Christophi of that wasn't easy. Especially with her fiance, Nic, Marcus's weak-willed younger cousin, suffering memory loss from an accident.

But Dinah didn't give up. As she stuck by the convalescing Nic -- at the Christophi home in Cornwall and then at the family's Greek Island getaway -- she finally began to make headway.

Truth was, the headway was unexpected and unsettling, for her feelings were taking a drastic turn. The love she thought she had for Nic was nothing compared to what she now felt for Marcus...

Description from Open Library.

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